Solid Western Canadian Championship Opener For GBR Karting

press release

GBR Kart Racing Inc. (GBR) of Chilliwack, British Columbia, the official North American distributor for the Lewis Hamilton chassis, wrapped up the opening weekend of the Western Canadian Championship with fast drivers in every class as the BC-based team took on a North American field of drivers. GBR Karting was near the top of the time sheets at the end of Friday's official testing in most classes. Overall, GBR Karting and the new Lewis Hamilton Kart excelled under extreme competition with a total of nine podiums in seven double-header classes, including four wins, three seconds and two thirds along with numerous top fives. Running at their home base of the Greg Moore Raceway located in Chilliwack, BC, GBR Karting was looking to start the 2011 WCC program strong and the results have them looking good.

Daniel Burkett - Photo: Courtesy of Jai Saunders
Above: DD2 pilot Daniel Burkett with his coach Kevin Glover, teammate and mentor Kyle Herder and mechanic Ray Arsenault
pic - Jai Saunders

"We've been working on the LH kart now since January, getting faster at each outing, so we went into the event pretty confident that we would be up front," stated Kevin Glover, team manager for GBR Karting. "But have to say, this is more than I could have hoped for and truly is a team result. I look forward to seeing what this great group of people can accomplish during the rest of the series."

In the premier Rotax DD2 Max class it was entirely GBR Karting with 2010 National DD2 Champion Kyle Herder taking top spot on the box in both the Saturday and Sunday main events. Working a special joint venture with PSL Karting CRG of Quebec, Herder was fast all weekend and added to the team atmosphere. Karting standout Daniel Burkett was making his DD2 debut and took second place on the podium in both main events to add to the GBR Karting LH Kart domination.

In the Rotax Senior Max class, GBR Karting fielded five drivers with Chris Glover, Kyle Georgeson, Daniel Burkett, JD Saunders and Vitali Tchikichev all taking to the massive 35-kart field. All five drivers were in and around the top ten for the entire weekend. On the rain soaked Saturday, the team did extremely well with four of the top ten drivers coming from GBR Karting, lead by Glover taking second followed by Burkett in eighth, Saunders in ninth and Tchikichev in tenth. On a dry Sunday this time it was Glover taking a five second victory with Georgeson in ninth and Burkett in tenth, his second top ten in Senior and fourth on the weekend.

"The LH1 chassis is simply awesome, rain or shine," noted Chris Glover. "I have to admit, I was a little worried on Saturday when it started raining because we had set the pace all day on Friday practice, but it didn't seem to matter, the kart worked flawlessly in both conditions."

Rotax Junior Max saw Zacharie Scalzo battle fiercely on his way to victory on Saturday against some of the deepest competition in Canada. It looked like Sunday would be a repeat after winning the prefinal, but a small technical oversight meant Scalzo would start at the back of the field for the final. In a career performance, Scalzo charged forward from 21st on the grid to take fifth at the line. In Rotax Mini Max it was Jeff Fulham battling up front all weekend, taking a heat race win along the way. Dicing with the lead group on both days would see Fulham eventually land two third place finishes and two trips to the podium celebrations.

Junior 1 Briggs LO206 had two GBR Karting entries with Jeff Fulham and TJ Madonna entering this new class to the WCC. Madonna took pole position on Saturday on his new LH Cadet chassis, and the Coquitlam, BC-based driver backed that up running very well and eventually finished fourth.  Jeff Fulham, also on an LH Cadet, was battling for first or second most of the weekend, but due to the NASCAR like competition in the four-cycle classes, he was never able to capitalize on his speed.  Both Fulham and Madonna love the new LH Cadet chassis.

"This was a very rewarding weekend that was the result of a massive team effort," stated GBR parts manager, Vince Arsenault. "Everyone did a fantastic job prepping all of the chassis and each driver worked really well together throughout the event. That really helped."

With the GBR Team back at their home base at the Greg Moore Raceway, preparations are underway for the second weekend of the Western Canadian Championship taking place on July 1-3 at the Saskatoon Kart Club near Martensville, SK. GBR Karting will continue to provide trackside service and support programs to any driver competing in the  Western Canadian Challenge, Eastern Canadian Karting Championship and the ASN Canada FIA Canadian National Championships.

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